An Unfiltered Man
by artwolf1995
Summary: "He's a man unfiltered. He really is chaos walking. " Todd finds some unexpected help in a man whose noise is as angry and red as he's ever seen. Set right after Dr. Manhattan "blows up" Rorschach. Written for the Watchmen Kinkmeme back in 2012, now edited. One-shot. Enjoy.


"An Unfiltered Man"

"Todd?"

Manchee.

"Todd?"

I can feel a dog's tongue on my face which means I can feel my face which means I can tell where it is and with a rush of air clanging into me, I open my eyes.

And see a man.

Well, I don't see a man. I see his feet. His shoes. Dirty, scuffed up. I know he ain't Aaron.

I slowly turn my head up to look at his face. I'm caught off guard for a second when I see his blue eyes.

"Ben?" I try to ask, but the goo in my lungs makes it come out all raspy and gurgled and wrong.

"Ben?" I ask again, but the man don't respond.

Through the dirt and the grime and the pain of my Noise, all I can see are his blue eyes and it's just gotta be Ben. It's just gotta.

Or maybe –

Maybe.

Maybe I really am dead after all.

"Not dead, Todd." I feel Manchee lick my face again and when he's done, I get a clearer picture of the man looking down at me. No, I ain't dead.

And he ain't Ben.

I reach my hand out to grab his shoe and feel a jolt of pain spike through my back. And then I remember. I remember.

Viola.

Aaron's got Viola. I try to push myself up but collapse back into the mud, landing on my belly and causing another jolt of pain to sear through my body. I'm gonna pass out again. I know it. I _know_.

_Idiot. _

Aaron's got Viola. He's got her, and I'm here in the mud, useless as ever. Because I couldn't kill him. Even tho I hate him. Even tho he deserved it. Even tho I just killed before he attacked us -

My thoughts drift back to the Spackle I murdered, remembering his confusion and fear and oh God I'm a killer now I may not have killed a man but I'm a killer now a killer a killer a killer.

And Aaron has Viola. _Get up, Todd Hewitt, you ruddy idiot!_

_Get up._

_Get up._

_GET UP NOW. _

And then I hear his Noise start to seep through the dirt and the grime and the pain in my Noise. And I ruddy well don't understand none of it.

It's all 'RETRIBUTION' and a little softer, kinder 'Daniel' and angry again 'VIEDT' and 'WHORE' (and yeah, I do understand that one). And it's angry Noise –

Angry and red.

As angry a Noise as I've ever heard in Prentisstown, in Farbranch.

In anywhere.

He's a man unfiltered.

He really is chaos walking.

And let me tell you, it's effing scary. And I keep thinking about Viola and how I have Ben's knife in my back and how I'm probably gonna die and this man just keeps staring down at me and I start to cry (shut up).

"Who are you?!" I rasp against the mud, tears streaming from my eyes at the pain and unfairness of it all. All I get in return is his Noise, and it ain't betraying no secrets yet.

"Who the eff are you?!" And by now you should know that I don't say 'eff'.

And then he crouches down over me, and I can see his face, bruised and bloodied like mine. He's got red hair and a little stubble on his chin. He's wearing clothes that I ain't seen nobody wear on New World before.

"Back! Back! Back! Back!" I hear Manchee bark.

"Who are –" I'm cut off from asking him again because there's a pain in my back that's searing and hot and it takes all my strength to keep my eyes from screwing shut.

When I open my eyes again I can see the knife in his hands, my blood and Spackle blood makin' it redder than I ever thought a thing could be.

Then the man lifts me from underneath my armpits and holds me up. I hiss because he don't do that too gently neither.

"Rorschach," he says.

"What?" I ask, my head lolling forward onto his shoulder. He ain't very big.

"I am Rorschach," he says. I feel his arms keeping me steady.

He's lightly shaking me. "Stay awake," he says. _I'm trying,_ I hear my Noise say. And it's true.

I am trying.

"The girl?" By which I think he means "Where is the girl?"

"I don't know . . . A man took her. I don't know where."

Aaron.

Aaron has Viola.

I'll kill him.

I'll kill him like I killed the Spackle.

Watch me.

I hear the man – Rorschach, I guess is what his name is – grunt or sigh. I don't know which. I don't care.

I need to find Viola. I need to save her.

And then Manchee barks, "Smell Viola!"

"What?" I ask, cuz my head's pounding and I'm starting to feel real ill with all this goo in my chest.

"Smell Viola, Todd!" Manchee's barking like crazy now, running around in circles and trying to wag his half-tail.

"The girl?" Rorschach asks. His voice is real raspy.

I feel myself starting to collapse against him. "Follow Manchee," I weakly say (shut up).

Through the dirt and the grime and the pain in my Noise, I can see him nod. He lightly throws me over his shoulder and he starts running, following Manchee.

I don't know why I'm trusting this man. A man who is chaos walking.

But I am.

And maybe it was because of something in his Noise, or lack thereof, I don't ruddy well know. But I'm trusting him and he's trusting Manchee and something in his Noise tells me he don't ruddy well like dogs but he's doing it anyway.

And so I'm trusting him, because even tho he might be chaos walking-

He's the best chance I got at saving Viola.

And that's just the way it's gonna have to be, ain't it?


End file.
